Virgin Galactic unveils its new SpaceShipTwo spacecraft in 2009. The ship has just completed its first flight, and is undergoing testing before it's allowed to take tourists into space. Getty

October 12, 2010

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The world's first private, manned spaceship — Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo — completed its first test flight on Sunday, a crucial step toward making commercial space tourism a reality. The craft, also known as the VSS Enterprise, has more tests to pass before it can carry its first paying passengers into suborbital flight. In this one, a mother ship carried SpaceShipTwo aloft and released it over the Mojave Desert, after which SpaceShipTwo glided down without firing the rocket that will propel it into space. (Watch Richard Branson discuss his innovation.) Here's a look at the numbers behind this feat of aerospace engineering:

45,000 feetAltitude SpaceShipTwo reached during this test flight

50,000 feetAltitude SpaceShipTwo will reach with space tourists before its rocket fires up

2,500 mph Speed SpaceShipTwo will attain under rocket power

316,000 feetAltitude SpaceShipTwo will reach with tourists on board — around 60 miles above the surface of the Earth

$200,000The cost of a ticket on SpaceShipTwo. A $20,000 deposit is required

370Number of passengers who have already paid their deposits

180 minutesLength of proposed SpaceShipTwo flights. Passengers will experience around five minutes of weightlessness

6Number of passengers SpaceShipTwo will carry on each flight, along with two pilots

5Number of SpaceShipTwo planes proposed for Virgin's fleet

$400 millionCost of the five commercial spaceships and launch vehicles